In Search of the Truth
by Spicetwist
Summary: Luke and Laura take off to discover who really killed Theresa and Rick
1. Prologue

Prologue

Luke stood in the hallway at the hospital.  The orderly wheeled  Laura out of her hospital room.  As they passed Luke, he winked at her.  He watched them take her away.

"Good-bye my angel," Luke whispered.

Scott Baldwin stepped forward.  "All right, Spencer, I kept my end of the deal. You got to see Laura, so now it's your turn. Sign the confession."

Luke stepped forward to take the paper from Scott, but instead grabbed the gun from the one of the guards.  He pointed the gun at Scott and the two guards.  He had no intention of actually killing Scott, but he enjoyed scaring him.  "Hold it! Ok, there's not going to be any question about who commits this crime."

He could see the worried look on Scott's face, but before he could say anything else Alexis Davis walked in.

"Luke, you don't want to do this," Alexis said.

"Sure I do," Luke answered with a grin.

"No you don't Luke," said Alexis glancing at Scott.  "This won't do Laura any good and think of what it will do to your children."

"You're right," he said not taking his eyes off of Scott.  "Ok, I won't kill him… for Laura's sake."  Luke saw that the door to the room Laura had been held in was still open and that the key was in the lock.

"Ok, all of you get in there," he said motioning with the gun.  Scott and the guards did as he asked.  Luke looked at Alexis.  "You too Natasha," he said nodding at the room.

Alexis rolled her eyes at him, but went into the room.  Luke shut the door behind him and locked the door.  He smiled and headed out of the hospital.

Meanwhile outside the hospital, the orderly arrived at the van that was supposed to take Laura to the airport.  Two men in uniforms signed the papers he was carrying.

"She's all yours," the orderly said.

The two men watched as he walked back into the hospital.  One of the men helped Laura to her feet while the other quickly took off the straitjacket.  

"I am glad to see you," Laura said hugging Nikolas and Lucky.  "I was beginning to think Luke's plan had backfired."

"That was a great acting job Mom," Nikolas said.

"Yeah, I almost believed that you had lost your mind," Lucky said with a laugh.

Luke came running out of the hospital.  "Thanks boys," he said.  "We'll be in touch when we can."  He helped Laura into the van and climbed into the driver's seat.

Luke started the engine and turned to Laura.  "Are you ready to find out who really killed Theresa and Rick?"

"Let's do it," she said with a smile.

Luke put the van into gear and drove off into the night.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Where are we going to go Luke?" Laura asked after they had been driving for about ten minutes.

"I made a reservation at a hotel just outside of Port Charles.  We'll go there and come up with a plan," he said.

"A hotel?  That's new," she laughed.  "We always hid out in the cheapest motels we could find."

"I know.  The problem is Scott also knows that, so he would check those places first."

Laura nodded.

"The reservation is under a fake name and I've got the fake ID's in the bag," he said pointing over his shoulder.

Laura looked over the seat into the back of the van.  She saw a large, blue carpet bag.  Other than the color, it looked just like the one they had used years ago when Frank Smith was chasing them.

"I love the bag Luke," she said with a smile.

"I thought you would like it.  I bought it a while back, just as a precaution."

"Why?  Did you think something like this was going to happen?" she asked.

"Yes... well no not like this.  I thought it would be something to do with me and Helena."

"Oh."

They rode in silence for the next few minutes.  Laura sat staring out the window.  Tears began to run down her face.  Luke glanced at her.

"Laura, what's wrong?"

"I was thinking about Rick.  He is... I mean he was the closest thing I had to a father and now he's dead," she said sadly.

"Don't worry.  We'll find out who killed him."

Laura wiped the tears from her face.  She turned to Luke and smiled.  "Thanks.  I love you Luke."

"I love you too," he said as he pulled the van into the hotel parking lot.

Meanwhile at the hospital, Bobbie was headed to Laura's room to see if she had been moved yet.  She got to the room and looked in the window.  She saw Alexis, Scott and the two guards in the room, but no Laura.  She went to the door and saw the key in the lock.  She quickly unlocked the door and opened it.

"Where's your brother?" Scott asked.

"I don't know.  I thought he was with you," Bobbie said confused.

"He was, but he locked us in here.  Then he took off," Scott said looking angry.

Before Bobbie could say anything else, two men came running in.

"Mr. Baldwin," one of the men said.  "Two men jumped us and knocked us out.  They stole our jackets."

"When we came to, the van was gone," the other man said.

"What about the patient?" Scott asked.

"We checked with the orderly.  He turned her over to the two men at the van."

Scott punched the wall with his fist.  "Spencer!" he yelled.  He turned to Bobbie.  "Your brother is behind this.  He has Laura now."  Scott lowered his voice and whispered nervously to himself, "I have to get her back before its too late."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning Laura woke up early.  She stretched and looked over to Luke's side of the bed.  He wasn't there.  She sat up and looked around the hotel room.  There was no sign of him.  Laura got out of bed and walked to the bathroom door.  She knocked but there was no answer.

Laura began to get worried.  "What if the police caught him," she said to herself.  "I have to find him."

She quickly got dressed and headed to the door.  Just as she reached her hand out to turn the door knob, the door opened.  Luke stepped into the hotel room

"Luke where were you?" she asked running to him.

He held up two paper bags and smiled at her.  "I went to get us some breakfast," he said.  "I also had a phone call to make."

"We have a phone Luke," Laura said pointing to the phone on the nightstand.  She took one of the bags of food from him.

"I know, but I was afraid the call would be traced back to this room.  I couldn't risk it."

"Mmmm, doughnuts," Laura said helping herself to one.  "Who did you call?"

"Roy."

"Do you think we're going to need help with this?"

"No Baby.  You and I can solve this one on our own.  I just needed someone to bring a few things that I forgot.  I didn't want the boys involved.  Scott is probably watching them," Luke said as he opened the other bag and took out two Styrofoam cups of coffee.  He handed one of them to Laura.

"Thanks," she said taking the cup.  She took a deep breath.  "Where do we start looking Luke?"

"I think the first thing we need to do is get more information on Theresa Carter.  I just haven't figured out how."

They sat silently eating breakfast for several minutes.

"Luke?  I have an idea."

"What Angel?"

"Where did we first learn about Theresa?"

"From your memories," Luke said.

"No.  I mean, where did we learn her name?"

Luke thought for a moment.  "From Bobbie."

"Right.  Bobbie found a file on her at the hospital.  We need to find a way to see that file."

"What good would that do?  The address on it would be useless since she's dead."

"Its not the address we want.  There is probably an emergency contact listed in her file.  If there is and we can find them…"

"We can get more information about her," Luke finished.  "Great idea," he added kissing her.

Meanwhile Scott Baldwin had just walked in the door of the D.A.'s office.  Just as he sat down at his desk when the phone rang.

"Baldwin," he said.

"Laura Spencer wasn't on the plane when it landed in London," said the voice on the other end.

"I know that, but we have a bigger problem," Scott said looking worried.

"What?"

Scott took a deep breath and exhaled sharply before he answered.  "Spencer got away and to make matters worse, he knows Laura didn't kill Rick Webber."

"How could you let that happen?  I should have arranged for you to have been killed in that attic instead of Webber."

"I'll take care of it.  Just don't hurt…" Scott started to say.  He never finished because the person on the other end hung up.

Scott buried his face in his hands.  "What am I going to do?" he asked himself.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Laura had just finished getting dressed when someone knocked on the door of the hotel room.  She looked nervously at Luke.

"What if it's Scott?" she asked.

Luke motioned for her to be quiet as he got his gun ready.  He went to the door.  "Who is it?" he asked.

"Roy."

Luke and Laura both breathed a sigh of relief.  Luke unlocked the door and opened it just enough for Roy to squeeze through.

"Were you followed?"

"No.  I made sure of it," Roy said setting down a black duffel bag.  He walked over and gave Laura a hug.  "How are you holding up."

"I'm fine," she said with a smile.

"Were you able to get all the stuff I wanted?" Luke asked picking up the duffel bag.

"Yeah, it's all in there.  Do you need me to get you a car or anything?"

"No.  We ditched the van and rented a car."

Roy nodded.  "Luke if you need my help, just ask."

"No I have all the help I need," Luke told him.  He smiled at Laura.

"Ok if you're sure," Roy said heading for the door.  "Promise me that you will call me if you need me."

"We will," Luke assured him letting him out.  "Thanks for bringing this stuff."  He closed the door behind Roy.  He turned back to Laura.

"What's in the bag Luke?"

"You'll find out when we need them," Luke said with a smile.  He walked over and turned on the television just in time to see their pictures on the news.

"And if anyone has any information regarding the location of Luke and Laura Spencer, you are encouraged to contact either Lieutenant Taggert of the Port Charles Police Department at 555-3497 or Acting District Attorney Scott Baldwin at 555-1519," the announcer said.

Luke turned the television off and sat down on the bed.  "Well there goes our plans to sneak into the hospital."

"Not necessarily," Laura said.  She started looking through the carpet bag that Luke had brought with them.  She found what she was looking for and disappeared into the bathroom.

Several minutes later she came out wearing a red wig and glasses.  Luke's mouth dropped open in amazement when he saw her.

"Wow.  Laura?  Is that you?"

"Yes," she laughed.  "Do you like it?"

"You look fantastic.  I almost didn't recognize you," he said walking over to her.  He kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Good.  That means that no one at the hospital will recognize me."

"You're not going there alone."

"Luke, you step one foot into that hospital and they'll throw you in jail for killing Rick.  At least I have this disguise.  I stand a better chance on my own."

Luke looked like he was going to argue with her.  "Ok, but promise me that you won't take any unnecessary chances."

"I promise," Laura said kissing him.  "I'll be back in two hours," she added going out the door.

About twenty minutes later, Laura pulled up outside the hospital.  She walked quickly in the entrance and made her way to the stairway.  She went down the stairs to the basement and found herself in a long corridor.

Laura started down the corridor looking at the names on the doors.  Finally she found the room she wanted.  She checked to make sure no one was coming, then she slipped into the room.

She walked over to the file cabinets.  "Carter, Carter," she whispered to herself.  She found the drawer she wanted and opened it.  She started sorting through the folders and pulled out Theresa Carter's file.

"What are you doing here?" said a man's voice.

Laura turned around and found herself face to face with Scott Baldwin.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Laura stood staring at Scott for a moment.  She was not sure what to say to him.  "Come on Laura, think," she thought to herself.

"I asked you a question," Scott repeated "What are you doing here?  Who are you anyway?"

Laura breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that Scott didn't recognize her.  "I'm just cleaning up in here.  These basements get so dusty don't they?" she said changing her voice as much as possible.

"So you work here?"

"Unfortunately I do," Laura said with a sigh.  "I'd rather be a nurse, but I ain't got enough education."

"No kidding," Scott muttered to himself.  He couldn't believe this woman's bad grammar.  "So what's your name?"

Laura glanced around the room.  Her eyes fixed on a door in the back of the room.  It was a janitor's closet.  "My name's Jan," she wiped her hand on her jeans and held it out to him.

Scott shook her hand like he thought it was really dirty.

"Excuse me I have got to get back to work," Laura said walking to the janitor's closet and pulling out a feather duster.  She grabbed a pale blue smock off a hook inside the door and put it on.

She walked back into the room Scott was in and started lightly dusting here and there.  She made her way back to where she had laid Theresa Carter's file.  She turned her back to Scott and pretended to be dusting while she slipped the file under the smock with her other hand.

"Well this room is done," she said heading for the door.  "It was nice to meet you, Mr. um…"

"Baldwin.  Scott Baldwin."

"Nice the meet you Mr. Baldwin," she said.  She walked out the door and walked slowly to the stairs.  When she reached them, she looked behind her to make sure that Scott wasn't following her.  He was no where in sight so she ran up the stairs and made her way out of the hospital.

Meanwhile back in the records room, Scott was going through the file cabinet.  He had looked through the same drawer three times, but Theresa's file was no where in sight.  "I have to find that file," Scott said to himself.  "I have to find Theresa's sister before Luke and Laura do."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Laura got into the rental car and headed back to the hotel.  She parked the car and took a few deep breaths before she got out.  She knew that she had to tell Luke the truth about running into Scott and she knew that he wasn't going to be happy.

She picked up the file and went inside.  She walked to the door of their room and knocked three times fast then counted to five and knocked once.    She could hear the lock click.  Finally Luke opened the door.

"I was getting worried.  What took you so long?" he asked.

"I ran into an old friend."

"Who?" Luke asked sounding worried.

"Scott."

"You ran into Baldwin?  Great!  Did he follow you?" 

"No.  This disguise worked perfectly.  Scott had no clue that it was me.  I had him totally fooled," Laura said.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive.  If he didn't buy my act, would he have let me out of the room with this?" Laura asked holding up Theresa's file.

"You got it?" Luke asked.  He picked her up and whirled her around.

"Of course," she said with a smile as he put her down.

Luke kissed her.  "Come on, let's check out this file."  He sat down on the bed and started to sift through the papers inside.

Laura sat down beside him and stared off into space.  It was several minutes before Luke noticed her.

"Laura what's wrong?"

"I was thinking about Lucky and Nikolas.  Do you think they got in trouble for helping us escape?"

"No.  I don't think so.  The news reports would have mentioned them when they reported that I got away.  I don't think there's enough evidence to link them to our escape."

"I'm sure you're right.  They risked an awful lot to help us.  Lucky knocked out the drivers that were supposed to take me to the airport and Nikolas bribed the doctor to stick that needle into the pillow instead of giving the shot to me."

"I know, but I'm sure Baldwin has too much else on his mind than going after the boys."

"You really think he had something to do with Theresa and Rick's murders?" Laura asked.

"Maybe not directly, but I think he knows something."

Laura nodded.  "Ok, let's get to work."

Luke smiled at her and kissed her.  The both started  checking out the file.

***

Meanwhile in the records room of the hospital, Scott pulled out his cell phone and dialed.  "It's me," he said.  "The file is missing."

"That really don't concern me Mr. Baldwin," the voice on the other end said.  "That file doesn't help me with my plan to finish Luke and Laura for good."

"For good?  You never said anything about hurting them," Scott said.

"Oh I don't intend to hurt them, I intend to kill them."

"I won't let you.  I don't really care for Luke, but I don't want to see him killed either."

"You have no choice, unless you want someone else to pay the price."

"No!"   Scott said.  "Don't hurt her.  I'll do what you want."

"Very good Mr. Baldwin.  I thought you'd see things my way."

"But you have to help me find that file."

"What does Theresa Carter's old employee file have to do with you helping me take care of Luke and Laura?"

"If Spencer gets his hands on that file, I won't be able to help you."

"Why?"

"Because he'll have proof that I'm the one that killed Theresa Carter," Scott said.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A half an hour later, Luke and Laura were still looking through Theresa Carter's file.  They had found a lot of information on her, but nothing they could use.

"This woman was reprimanded a lot," Laura said with amazement.  "I'm surprised that they never fired her."

"She was probably sleeping with someone in charge."

"Luke, I'm sure Steve Hardy wouldn't…"

"I didn't mean Steve.  There were lots of other people that would have been above her."

Laura nodded.  She began reading the paper in her hand with great interest.  "Luke I think I have something."

Luke laid down the paper he was holding to give her his full attention.  "What did you find."

"An emergency contact for Theresa.  It's her sister."

"Does it have an address?"

"Yes, in Rochester.  There's also a phone number."

"Let me see that," Luke said taking the paper from her.  "Sarah Yates, 123 Elm Street, Rochester, NY.   555-1246.  Relationship: sister," he read aloud.  "Well let's try this number and see if Mrs. Yates still lives there."

He walked to the phone and dialed the number.  An answering machine picked up.  "You have reached the Yates residence, we cannot take your…"  Luke hung up before the machine finished.

"The phone number is the same and I'm guessing that the address is too," Luke said.

"So we're going to Rochester?" Laura asked.

"You got it.  Get your stuff together.  I'll go check us out of the hotel."

A short time later, they were in the rental car on their way to Rochester.

***

An hour later, Luke stopped the car outside Sarah Yates house.  He and Laura got out and walked up to the door.  When he knocked on the door it swung open.

"I don't like this," Luke said.  "Stay behind me."

They slowly entered the house and began to search it.

"Let's split up," Luke said.  "You take upstairs.  Be careful."

Laura went upstairs.  The first door she tried led to a small bedroom.  She went inside and started searching through the dresser.  She found nothing that would be important to them.  She moved onto the nightstand and opened the drawer.  Inside was a book.  Laura took it out and flipped through it.  It appeared to be a diary.  She started to put it back in the drawer when she noticed that it went back to 1978.

She sat down on the bed and started checking the entries around the day that Theresa was killed.  She found the entry where Sarah had written about her sister's death.  Laura flipped a few more pages and read an entry that made her gaso.  She stuffed the diary into her pocket and went to find Luke.

Meanwhile Luke continued to search the living room.  He didn't find anything so he went into the kitchen.  There on the floor lay Sarah Yates.  Luke bent down to see if she was all right and discovered that she was dead.  He stood up and started to back away from the body.

"Freeze!" said a voice behind him.

He turned around to find himself staring into the barrel of a gun held by a Rochester Police Officer.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Laura came down the stairs and started searching for Luke.  She stopped just outside the kitchen door when she heard voices.

"What are you doing here?" said a voice that she didn't recognize.

"I just stopped by for a visit," Luke said calmly.

Laura cautiously opened the kitchen door just wide enough to look inside.  She saw the cop standing with his back to the door.  He was holding a gun on Luke.  Laura gasped when she saw the woman's body lying on the floor behind Luke.  She knew that if the woman was dead, Luke was going to get blamed for it.   She had to do something.

"I'm arresting you on the suspicion of murder," the cop said.  "Turn around and put your hands behind your back."

Laura saw a large vase sitting on a small table in the hallway.  She picked it up and threw it against the wall.  It shattered, making a loud noise.

The cop turned towards the sound of the noise.  Luke saw his chance.  He spun around and grabbed the gun from the cop's hand.  "Ok move," Luke said motioning for him to move out the kitchen door.  As they entered the living room, Luke saw Laura.  "Open that closet," he told her.

Laura did as he asked.  Luke motioned for the cop to get in the closet and then locked him in.  He put a chair under the doorknob as an extra precaution.  "Let's get out of here," he said grabbing Laura's hand.

They got into the rental car and drove to a small motel just outside of Rochester.  After they checked in, they walked silently to their room.  Luke fell backwards on the bed and sighed.

"Well so much for getting any information out of Theresa's sister," he said

"She was murdered, wasn't she?"

Luke nodded.  "She was the best lead we had.  Not only did we not get to talk to her, but now we're wanted for another murder that we didn't commit.  If only we had found something in that house that we could use."

"Luke…" Laura started to say.

"But that cop had to show up before we could finish searching the house."

"Luke…"

"That trip was a total waste of time."

"Not necessarily," Laura said with a smile.  She pulled the diary out of her pocket and held it up for Luke to see.  "Look what I found."

Luke stood up and took the diary.  He looked through it for a few minutes.  He looked at her with a confused expression.  "Ok, how does this help us?"

Laura took the book back from him and turned to the entry she had read earlier.  "September 5, 1978.  It has been a week since my sister Theresa was murdered.  I am still afraid to tell anyone that I was in that attic the night of the murder.  I'm afraid the young man that killed her will come after me."

Luke walked over to her.  "Do you remember anyone else being in that attic?"

Laura sat down and concentrated.  "I walked in and Theresa was trying to choke Rick.    She saw me and started to come towards me.  I froze.  I thought she was going to kill me.  I saw someone push past me and the next thing I remember was Theresa lying on the floor.  A heard a woman's scream come from the doorway.  After that all I remember was feeling terrified and seeing Rick coming towards me with a syringe."

"I'll bet anything that Sarah was the woman you heard scream."

Laura nodded.  "You're probably right, but who was the person that hit her?  Rick was too far away and was still trying to catch his breath from being choked.  So it couldn't have been him."

"Do you remember anything about the person that pushed their way past you?" Luke asked sitting down next to her.

"No.  All I see in my mind is the back of a yellow rain slicker."

Luke took the diary back from Laura and reread the entry.  He turned the page and read the next entry.  "Laura, listen to this.  September 6, 1978.  A young man named Scott Baldwin came to visit me today.  He went on and on about how sorry he was that my sister had died.  He offered me $5000 if I kept quiet about what I saw in the attic.  I took the money.  I was afraid not to since he was the man that killed my sister." 

Luke and Laura sat staring at each other.

***

Meanwhile Scott sat in his office doing paperwork.  He jumped as the phone rang.

"Baldwin," he said.

"Mr. Baldwin," said a woman's voice.  "I just wanted you to know that the problem with Sarah Yates has been taken care of."

"What do you mean by taken care of?"

"She's been eliminated."

"You killed her?"

"Let's just say that I arranged her death.  Now you can concentrate on helping me.  I'll be in touch," she said before she hung up.

Scott sighed and leaned back in his chair.  "How did I get myself into this?" he asked.


End file.
